A House Divided
by Mediocre Mistress
Summary: After losing her way while driving to a costume party Sakura finds herself lured into a beautiful home to get help. Now she's trapped in an ever-changing labyrinth and must escape from the clutches of a cursed clan that has fallen into insanity if she ever wants to see the outside world again. AU Halloween Special, Uchiha/Saku/Sai Harem
1. Prologue

A very familiar tree passed her for the fourth time and a loud exhale of aggravation filled the silent car, a rusted Beetle that was white at some point in time. It was pitch black outside and the woods were eerie, Sakura lamented her luck that she would lose her way in such an area. The view of the dirt road before was slightly marred by the Jason hockey mask reflected in the windshield, bloodied for the spook factor. The rumble of the gravel going under her Beetle was loud in the otherwise empty road as she crawled along- Ino and Naruto had always said she drove like an old lady, she recalled bemusedly. The shoulder of the frayed, dirtied brown jacket slipped over her shoulder again and she took a hand off the wheel to tug it back in place with gloved fingers.

Sakura veered the car over to the side of the road onto the grass, she was getting low on gas and needed to get proper directions before she wasted it all. Pulling an old yellow flip-phone out of her pocket, dialing Ino's number. She has to rip off her gloves with her teeth, tossing it to the side, and repeat her actions, this time with somewhat calloused fingers. Placing the speaker next to her ear, she impatiently tapped the steering wheel in quick rhythm and listened to the vibrating tone.

"Pick up, pick up, pick up, pick-," her chant was cut off by a female automated voice.

"Apologies, but this cellular device cannot reach the number dialed. Please try again later or in a different area."

The "No Connection" notice on her screen mocked her. "Damn it!" The exclamation was whispered.

Kicking open the driver's side door she stepped out onto the half-dead grass and raised her phone in the air above her head, narrowing bright emerald eyes to peer up at the Wi-Fi logo. Beeping rang through the night as she locked her car before wandering around blindly, hoping for a signal to be blessed unto her cellphone. The lack of street lights made the place especially eerie and Sakura was eager to get her directions and get going. "Stupid pig with her stupid parties," it was a muttered rant under her breath, along with other choice profanities.

A chilling wind tussled the strands of pink hair that weren't tied up in a tiny choppy ponytail and stung her face. "Sure am glad I have this though," She chattered through shaking teeth, zipping up her almost blue leather jacket, providing some protection against the cold. "I'd hate to think how it'd feel wearing those other costumes Ino tried to get me to wear..." PlayBoy bunny costumes and naughty Red Riding Hood dresses floated through her mind. The shudder that went down her spine had significantly less to do with the cold.

As if the heavens had heard her problems and sent down a gift below, a soft warm glow appeared within the trees to her right. In the dead dark of the night, they appeared like the light at the end of a tunnel to Sakura, and her eyes immediately picked up on them. Upon closer inspection, it became clear they were the windows of a home. "Maybe whoever lives there can give me directions. If not, at least they'll have a landline I can use."

Even so, she backtracks to her Beetle first to reach inside and into the glove box, retrieving the velvet whiskey bag. Glancing inside she affirmed the coveted items were within where they belonged before tossing her fake machete prop into the floor of the passenger seat, not wanting to give the homeowners a scare.

-0-0-0-

Dead leaves cracked under her feet as she shuffled through dirt and damp mud, thorns caught onto her loose gray pants, Sakura thanks her lucky stars her costume had already been dirtied for the aesthetic or she would be furious with the damage done unto her clothing. The lights have become close now and she can't be bothered to think on it further as the thought of heating and safety become tantalizingly close to reality. She breaks free of the last of the prickly brush and the entirety of the home comes into view.

It's tall, two, or maybe even three, stories high, an old Victorian home with purple trim and what probably used to be white paneling. Brown wooden shutters are shut over some of the windows. Even though aged, Sakura had to admit the structure was beautiful. The steps onto the large wrap-around porch creak under her steps as she makes her way in front of the tall mahogany doors, the size of the doorframe dwarving her already small figure. The fair skin of her left hand appears almost ghost-white in contrast to its surroundings, and she brings her still gloved right arm up instead to grasp the freezing metal door-knocker- sculpted in the shape of lion-dogs' heads- and brings it against the wood twice. She can hear the sound resounding throughout the interior of the home.

A few moments pass before the doors open in front of her invitingly. "Thank you so much, I hate to bother you but I was wondering..." The foyer is empty and her words trail off.

A room to the left and over is lit, the glow spilling out of the entryway and she makes her way over to seek out the residents in what Sakura assumes is the kitchen. "I'm looking for the Yamanaka community and seem to have gotten a little turned around." The room is empty, and a tapping noise fills the silence.

It is indeed a kitchen, but one that doesn't appear to have been used in many years. Sakura turns the curved handle of the sink to stop the steady drip, and the light cuts out. "Shit!" the pinkette stumbles around in surprise and trips over something, landing painfully on her behind. Small flames ignite on candles affixed to the walls one by one, bringing back some visibility as she grasps the small obstacle underneath her feet.

"You should not be here." The tone these words are spoken in is emotionless and bland. The young woman whips her head around in an attempt to locate the source of the voice, nothing meeting her eyes.

"What the hell?! Where are you? Who is it?" She fights to keep the tremble in her voice subdued.

"I would prefer that you please treat my anchor with more respect in the future. More importantly, I advise that you take your leave now."

She stands up onto her feet, and finds that the object that had rolled underneath her boots is a paintbrush. She places it onto the dusty kitchen counter. "I'm very sorry for coming into your home. The doors opened so I thought it was okay. I'm just looking for-"

"What do you mean the doors opened?" The voice is in her ear this time, she can feel a cold breath brush against the shell.

With a yelp she instinctually brings an elbow back, nearly giving herself whiplash to look behind her.

A young man is standing behind her, and her offending appendage is _inside_ of his stomach. With a loud scream, she nearly falls over her own feet as she sprints back to the home's entrance in a bid to flee from the _phantom_ behind her.

Boots slide against the hardwood floor as she skids to a stop in the foyer. Except its no longer a foyer, but a horizontal hallway, no doors or windows to be found, as if they had never existed, and instead replaced by a table with a vase filled with roses against the wall. "W, what? How is this even _real_?"

"Please spare me from your screeching in the future, it grates on the ears. I had thought that by showing myself to you I might foster trust, but I seem to have been mistaken. I'll remember that in the future."

"What is this place? How is the door gone?" She can no longer keep the panic out of her voice.

"This is a house. The house changed." The answer is delivered in a deadpan.

Her eyebrow twitched, anger helping overcome fear at the answer, "That's not what I meant and you know it. Where are you smartass?"

"Last time you saw me you ran away. I don't enjoy being screamed at."

Sakura's response is grinded through her teeth, "Sorry I screamed at you. Can you 'please' come back out?"

He appears again, this time in front of her, slowly becoming visible. He's transparent, like the overlays in photoshop she used to mess with in highschool, but that fact doesn't diminish his good looks now that she gives herself enough time to observe him. His skin is as white as paper, while his eyes and hair are pitch black. His yukata maintains the monochromatic theme and in whole, she is reminded of the old ink paintings she used to view in museums. Sakura hisses a bit in envy of his bone structure and symmetry. As he steps closer, his height becomes more apparent, standing at half a head taller.

He's not so impressed by her appearance however. "Why would you leave the house looking like that Ugly?" A friendly, fake smile tilts his lips.

Her mouth immediately twists into a snarl and her small fist swipes through his smug, incorporeal face, which only serves to frustrate further. This only brings more attempts to damage him, or at least wipe that false grin off his lips.

"I'm not sure why you're attacking me, but I should tell you you're on a time limit."

Her knuckles freeze an inch from his nose, "What does that mean?"

"Once the sun rises you will be unable to leave this place. I will help escape."

Sakura raises a brow, "How's that? The door's gone anyway. And why would you help me after I tried to smash your mug?"

"This house is not a static building within. I believe some of my control has be wrested from me, the doors should've been barred to the outside. It is my duty to contain the residents of this house and protect those outside."

-0-0-0-

She walked alongside "Sai" as he led her back to the kitchen. "Wait, but what are you protecting people from? And how did the doors disappear? How could you lose control or whatever?"

"The residents of this house are not... willing guests. They were selfish, greedy, violent things that had to be locked away. The interior of this house changes constantly in order to fulfill its duty. The place is sealed, however it is the Devil's night, when the enchantment is weakest. Thus you were lured and trapped within this place. Once the night ends and the sun rises it will become sealed once again. I apologize for my failure to perform my duty Ugly, but I intend to make up for it."

Sakura twitched at the nickname, but she had noticed this guy had next to no understanding of socialization and simply let it be.

"How come all of this is your duty? Why not make someone do it, hell, how long have you been here?"

"A few centuries maybe. I was created with this purpose in mind."

"You certainly look a 'few centuries' old..." This was muttered underneath her breath bitterly.

The university student was a bit surprised with how quickly she was accepting this nightmare-ish situation, but blames the way Neji always droned about his family's Holy Men and their legends for softening her up to the concept of the supernatural. Or perhaps she had simply suspended her disbelief in her need to escape.

Sai halts in front of the counter, picking the painbrush up and handing it to her. "Please keep this safe Hag. It's my anchor to this world. If my anchor becomes destroyed so will I, the further I am forced to stray from it the weaker I become, and I can keep track of your location if you become lost."

She glances at the wooden brush, much like the ones used for calligraphy, before pocketing it and zipping the pocket closed. "Now what?"

He's disappeared from sight now. "I will remain hidden for now. You must pass each area of the house before gaining the key to the exit. I must rest and save energy. Good luck Ugly."

-0-0-0-

The kitchen had a thin, flimsy door to the side, but no amount of puching would open it, there was no handle or keyhole, only a stone hawk head, rubies in the eyes, with its curved beak wide open. After searching the kitchen for a tool to pry the door open, Sakura found nothing but half of a shattered plate with the word "Taka" engrave onto its rim.

Leaving through the entryway, she inspects the living room. "How much time do I have?" Pulling out her phone yields no answers, it doesn't even turn on when she holds down its buttons. "Damn it." Pocketing it again, she turns her gaze to the fire place.

On its mantle is a iron frame, within is a chipped half circle. Upon a closer look she finds its a ceramic plate with an engraved feather. Her green eyes light up in recognition of the faint red flames along the rim. Grabbing the other half from the kitchen, she returns to hold the piece ontop of its counterpart to match their jagged edges. Before her shocked gaze, the edges disappeared into a seamless merging until it had once again become whole.

The fireplace came to life and the blue flames all leaned towards the foyer. She followed where it pointed with a shake of her head. "Hopefully I'll still be sane by the time I get out of here."

The wall cutting off the foyer had disappeared, and a entirely new room replaced it. Sakura recognized the weapons displayed on the walls from her history class, except these didn't hold the rust and wear from the examples in museums. They all looked sharp and very deadly. Walking along the walls, she inspected them all very carefully, at a distance, fascinated by them. What stuck out like a sore thumb was the single scroll, held in place by two curved rungs. Unfurling it, she once again saw the word "Taka", along with a simple line.

" _'The swift rabbit can only be caught in the jaws of the cunning hawk'._ Seriously?" the pinkette is almost disappointed. "This one's way too obvious. The escape rooms I did with Shika were wayyy harder than this."

Hurrying back to the kitchen in a bid to save time, she places the scroll in the open beak of the hawk head. The beak closes around it, and the scroll morphes into an iron rabbit, mechanical limbs squirming while the squeaking joints sounded eerily similar to the death cries of prey. Rustic liquid flows from the beak as the rabbit stills, in a perfectly straight line down before making a sharp turn to the right and solidifying into a door knob. Sakura is sickened, even a bit nauseous, at the display.

Taking in a shuddering breath, she grasps the warm knob and twists it, the door finally opening before her.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Wow, who would've thought that I would be able to flesh out an outline for a whole story in time for October? This is probably going to be the lengthiest story I've ever written (or will finish). I'm planning to publish the last chapter on Halloween if I can keep pace with the schedule I've come up with between work, but we'll see how that goes. Favorites are lovely and reviews even lovelier. Sorry to be away for so long everyone, but I'm hoping you will be able to see some improvement from my time on hiatus?**_


	2. Chapter One

The door shut behind her and blended into the wall until there was no trace of its existence. "This place is so weird..." Her tone held more exasperation than wonder by this point. 

She turned forward to observe her surroundings. The walls were a deep crimson with black trim. Lanterns hung from the walls, providing more light than what had been available in the first area of the house. There was an oak shelf to the right of where the door used to be, upon it an unlit green candle sat upon a silver candle holder. "Take it," Sai's voice made a reappearance. 

"Nice to hear you again. Any helpful tips you might want to offer?" She does as she says despite the sarcastic tone she takes on. Once she's holding, a silver flame ignites itself on the wick. 

Sai either doesn't pick up on it or doesn't care, "That candle will act as your guide and timer. Once the flame melts all of the wax and goes out, you will be unable to leave. Keep it close." 

Sakura starts to walk down the hallway, eager to get a move on. "Tell me, what exactly are these 'areas' I have to go through? What am I supposed to do in them?" 

"A more apt title might be 'Cages'. Each of the residents are separated and contained within each Cage, unable to leave their designated spaces. It makes handling them much safer. To get to the next room, all you need to do is find the 'Key'." 

Sakura licks her lips nervously, "Uhuh. So these Cages all have the monsters in them and I just gotta avoid them and get the key. Sounds easy-peasy. Nothing to worry about at all." 

"I'm glad you're so confident in your abilities Ugly. If I were in your position I would be much more worried about being attacked, killed, eaten, unable to pass-"

"That was sarcasm, smartass. There's really some things you need to keep to yourself Sai."

"Apologies, I wasn't exactly created with social niceties in mind. I don't hold the emotional capacity for understanding the nuances of interaction."

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows, small lips pursing, "That's actually a little depressing. You keep saying you were created... what are you anyways?"

Her only answer is silence and she assumes he's retreated back to gathering his energy. She pats her pocket where the paintbrush is reassuringly. Who she's reassuring she's not quite sure. The hallway seems like it's been going forever. In fact, she spies the same ridge in the drywall as before, it is. _'But that's impossible! I've only been going straight, I haven't even been making any turns!'_ She circles around a few more times before stopping in her tracks. She scoured the walls for any sort of clue as to what she needed to do. But the halls were simply empty. She'd gotten stuck in a circle, and her starting point where she'd entered with the shelf didn't even seem to exist anymore.

"Any pitches you want to make Sai?"

The paintbrush is silent and she huffs.

She runs an appraising eye over the wall. Then she does so again. And again. Trying to absorb as many details as possible with each sweep. That's when she spots it. And she understands why she hadn't noticed earlier. It wasn't anything physical that was off. It was something that defied logic. One of the torches didn't cast a shadow.

She attempts to reach up for the odd torch and curses her small height when she doesn't even come close to touching it. In a desperate bid to grasp her only clue, she jumped off the ground as high as she could, pressed up against the wall. The tips of her fingers brushed the sides and when she came down she had a transient mass of black in her hand. It had no texture or feeling, barely even solid against her fingertips, only a phantom chill, and weighed like nothing, about the size of her two hands together. It didn't seem to hold any depth to it and turning it sideways made it disappear completely. "Is this... a _shadow_?"

She experiments with it, shaping it, stretching it, crumpling it up. It proves itself very malleable and makes no sound. She tries to drop it, but it sticks to her fingers, as she turned her hand it moved along her surface, reminding her of the ladybugs she used to catch as a child. "If I can't drop it in mid-air, maybe I just need to..." She presses the shadow against the wall, and it sticks.

However, when her fingertips brush the middle, they go _through_ the darkness. Cautiously, she dips in further, until up to her forearm has entered through. Its freezing cold and when she retreats and pulls up her sleeve the skin is pale porcelain, the reddening knuckles contrasting hideously. Hugging the suffering appendage to her chest, she sets her candle down and her other arm goes in, further and quicker this time, bending it to the side and she feels a solid wall. She retrieves her limb faster this time, allowing it to join her huddled pose. "Please tell me I don't have to go in there," Sakura whines, already able to imagine the blizzard awaiting her.

Once the stinging had faded from her arms she grasped the edges of the shadow like you would paper and stretched her arms as wide as she could, then repeated her actions on the vertical sides. "This reminds me of those Looney Toons I used to watch, but they seemed to have less trouble with it," she muttered, zipping her jacket as far as she could go, suddenly wishing she hadn't left her other glove in her Beetle.

Sakura tosses her candle through first. The shadow is a misshapen oval on the wall, high enough that she has to pull her upper body up inside first before wrapping her arms around herself to preserve warmth, kicking her legs against the faint solid feeling underneath her to move forward. Nothing could prepare her for the cold that assaulted her senses and she's certain the space didn't feel this deep when she'd reached her arms in. She clenches her eyes shut to prevent them from drying out, not that it makes a difference in the darkness. The pinkette remembers reading something in her medical textbooks, how when a person is in complete darkness and waves their hand in front of their face the brain creates the illusion of seeing its silhouette, even though the eyes don't actually see anything. Sakura almost wants to try it out, but that would mean sacrificing precious, precious warmth.

Finally the crown of her head meets open air, then to her neck, then her waist, and she struggles to push her arms in front of her as she tumbles down onto the floor.

Her eyes stay closed however, the lashes have frosted over and she doesn't want to risk breaking them off by prying them open. Bringing her hands to cover her face she huffs hot breath to slowly warm and melt the lashes while trying to pick up on her surroundings through her other senses. First thing that came to her attention was that the place was incredibly toasty, almost uncomfortably, and the sudden change gave her bodily systems proverbial whiplash. She could also hear the crackling of fire, louder than that of the torches.

"You look like a idiot."

The voice's deadpan from in front of her almost made her think it was Sai, but this one held emotion. Specifically, hostility.

"Aah, shit!" By instinct she slammed a fist in front of her, remembering a mention of monsters throughout the house, and was elated when she hit something judging by the yelp she received.

Finally opening her eyes, she saw a young man holding his nose and muttering curses, and she spies a large open room behind him. Again, she was reminded of Sai, though this one wasn't transparent. Black hair and eyes, plae skin. However, Sakura was soon able to pick up on their differences. His skin had more color to it, and his eyes didn't hold the blankness Sai's did. His hair was like a raven's, almost blue rather than jet black, and was spiked up in the back in the most peculiar way. His face was more angular and aristocratic. The robes he wore were white, with a purple rope tied around his waist instead of an obi. Sakura was beginning to wonder why the people were wearing traditional Japanese clothes living in a Victorian house in the states. And whether everyone here was so attractive, this boy was pretty enough she couldn't bring herself to feel apologetic over smashing his _perfect_ nose.

"Who looks like a idiot now?" Sakura knew she probably shouldn't be provoking this guy, especially if he was one of the monsters Sai was talking about (though she's honestly expecting something a bit more horrifying than a spoiled brat), but for some reason the way this guy held himself screamed arrogance.

Sakura spots a large fireplace behind him and brushes past him in favor of the chance to chase the last of the chills from her body, grabbing her green candle on the way, which somehow has stayed lit. She lay on one of the cushions in front of the fire, curling up with the knees to her chest, setting her candle down carefully in front of her, and enjoying the flames. Or was, until a muttered "annoying" comes from her right.

Pressing down a growl building in her throat, the young woman whips her head to the side to glare, "Okay, what is your _problem_? I have done nothing to bother you since the moment I've come in here. I just want to think my way through and find the exit."

He's sitting on a matching cushion, not even facing her. Initially he only scoffs, but her green glare doesn't let up. "You're the one who barged in my room and punched me in the face. I don't know who you are but go away and leave me alone."

" _Oh, trust me,_ I would if I could. Find me the exit and I'll take my merry way out," She turns and points to the space between them, "But for someone who wants to be left alone, you're a bit close aren't you?"

The brunette immediately reeled back from where he'd leaned his head towards her to hiss his accusations. "Also, my name isn't 'annoying' or 'idiot', it's Sakura, use it. Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"You don't need to know my name." This man, no _boy_ , was way too snobby and she was about to call him out on it when he continued, much quieter and subdued, "This is my room... I can't leave."

Sakura felt a bit of pity at the way those words rolled off his lips, helpless, and went about lightening the mood, "Well, I'll need to call you _something_ , so you'll be Spiky for the time being."

"Tch." Not quite the response she was hoping for but at least the tense line of his shoulders evened out.

Now pleasantly warm, the woman grabbed her candle and stood up. Leaving the boy where he was, she silently went about searching the room. The first thing she took notice of was the large number of weapons hanging on the racks and on wooden racks. The second thing she noticed was the distinct lack of personal items, no picture frames or board games, or anything to even imply this guy's "life"- existence?- didn't revolve around swinging around a sword or two. Even so, she couldn't help but find herself dubious of Sai's claims. He'd mentioned violent, greedy creatures that destroyed everything they touched, but this guy hadn't lifted a finger to cause harm- yet- even if he was a little stuck-up.

Sakura was starting to regret her remarks about the puzzles in the kitchen and wondered if this was karma's way of shutting her mouth. There were simply no keys to be seen, and her so-called guiding light wasn't doing any guiding. The only thing of any interest in the room was a long, pale green curtain hanging on the wall, which stood out like a sore thumb amongst the bloody color palette of the rest of the room. Since the color matched her candle she assumed there was a link between them, but her silver flame didn't even singe the material when held up to the cloth. Sweeping the garment aside showed nothing but more wall and the pinkette left the issue be for the time being.

"What are you doing, idiot? All your moving around is annoying my eyes. Just stay still," he himself hadn't moved from where she left him.

"Well, 'Spiky', I'm finding a way out. I'm not gonna' just sit around and waste away like you. Feel free to help me anytime." The woman begins to re-examine one of the weapon racks for anything she might've missed, unable to help herself from admiring the craftsmanship on the katanas.

"By the way, if this is 'your room', why doesn't it look like you actually live in here? You'd think there'd be a family photo or something..."

"If I couldn't find a way out of here, someone as useless and stupid as you definitely can't, so just _stay still_." Quite frankly, Sakura had grown sick of this guy's attitude.

Walking up behind him as quietly as she could, she reeled her arm back as far as possible, and smacked him upside the head, purposely leaving the palm flat. The force was strong enough to knock his entire frame to the side in his unguarded posture.

"Listen, I don't know who you think you are, and I'm not forcing you to help me out, but if you think you can just sit on your ass and insult me- the one who's actually trying to help themselves instead of mope- then I'll be glad to educate you! My name is Sakura Haruno! Not 'idiot', 'useless', or 'annoying', and you're gonna' use and use it well." By the end of her rant her cheeks are burning and her shoulders are heaving to catch her breath, but a weight has been lifted from her and she felt significantly better after telling him off for his behavior.

He stared up at her in pure shock, holding the side of his head, "How dare you! I am Sasuke Uchiha, I'll destroy y-" He's interrupted by a gloved hand being stuck in his face.

"Hello, Sasuke, it's lovely to meet you. Neither of us are acting very mature but now that introductions have been made, let's try to get along okay?" Her smile was warm and polite.

Sasuke stares at her a long time, clearing trying to work out her character, and just when she's prepared to give up on him, takes her hand and allows himself to be pulled up on his feet. "Now, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

Sasuke doesn't give a direct answer, and she takes his silence as acceptance. "I'm looking for a key. If I find it then I can get out of here. I'm on a tight time frame so I can't spend too much time looking for it. Do you know anything?"

Sasuke thinks for a few moments before answering, "I've never seen any keys or anything that can be unlocked by one in this room. What you see here is everything I have."

Sakura's shoulders droop, "Not what I wanted to hear, I'll be honest. I was told that there are monsters in this house. What do you know about them?"

"'Monsters' huh? And who did you hear that from?" Sasuke's voice grew derisive and his lips curled up into a sneer, "The Uchiha clan are the most powerful of the Tengu, we fought for what we wanted and deserved all we had. Humans should've been grateful at the prospect of being ruled by us."

 _'Oh no,'_ Sakura took a step back in what she hoped was a casual stance, "H, hey, I noticed you mentioned clan! Does that mean you have family? You guys sound pretty amazing, Tengu you said, tell me about them!" She hoped the added flattery might distract him. It worked.

The brunette was condescending, "I usually wouldn't waste my time educating you, but since you seem to understand our greatness," he smirked and she could almost see the peacock feathers flaring. "you've earned my answer. We could raze villages to the ground in a single night. Humans offered us gifts for our favor and mercy, and no one took us lightly. I was a prodigy, and the youngest of my generation to fly. Much like how my brother was the prodigy of his." Sakura immediately caught onto the note of admiration that crept into his voice and latched onto the topic.

"You sound like you respect your brother quite a bit." She was surprised to see him soften almost immediately at the mention of his older sibling.

"Of course, he's the strongest person ever. He took care of our clan the best and always put us first. He always enjoyed bringing me home presents when I was young..." His voice trailed off. "Then he betrayed us and contacted that _bastard._ "

"I don't need him." The man moves back to sit in front of the fire, staring into it, his gaze as heated as the flames. "I never needed anyone but him, but he betrayed me, so he can burn for all I care."

The candle in Sakura's handle wavered, before the flame leaned forward to the side, it's core near the wick taking on a black hue. As slowly brought her feet closer, to Sasuke's side where he sat, she noticed it pointed to the fireplace. The pinkette slowly lowered herself beside him into a criss-cross, cautiously eyeing him for any signals that showed hostility towards her presence. Eyes on the fire, looking for any sign of change. "I wonder if your brother really wanted to hurt you though. You said he always tried to do what he thought was best, so maybe whatever he did wasn't meant to be malicious towards you." Her eyes widened when she noticed the red inferno flicker and lower slightly. The trembling of Sasuke's fingers caught her gaze and a theory formed in her head.

Scooting closer in hopes of offering comfort, she persisted. "Did you ever ask him for the reasoning of his actions? If he tried so hard to help the clan all the time, I doubt he'd turn on you without any sort of good reason out of the blue. Something must've pushed him to it." By now the angry red color had lessened to a smoldering yellow. "You can't hide the doubt in your voice when you spoke of him with your anger, I could hear it. You've thought of this as well right?"

Now even the smoldering coals had turned dark and inert, and among a pile of ash Sakura saw a small four-sided knife with an O-ring at the edge of the handle. _'A kunai?'_ , she recalled. It was too small for an adult to use, and incredibly chipped and dull, most likely even capable of slicing butter. She reached forwards to pick it up and it was cool in her hands. Her companion spoke up from behind her, "A gift from Itachi. My first blade I ever practiced with. I wanted it to burn, and to burn my ties with my brother as well. But I could never erase him in my heart."

He stands up and offers a hand to her, face impassive but his eyes hold a bit of warmth. Holding the blade in her gloved palm, she picks her candle back up with that same hand and carries the kunai between her thumb and index finger. Its bare counterpart gratefully grasps the offered appendage and allows herself to be hoisted up.

"Sakura... Thank you..."

"I'm just glad you seem to have some peace, Sasuke." She smiled at him happily.

"It's weird, I felt so cold and empty before but now... there's something hot here, do you feel it too?" He appeared almost lost.

Sakura let out an awkward chuckle, "I mean, it is a little toasty in here, y'know?" She pulls her hand to her side, or at least, tries to.

His grip around her fingers tighten and he tugs her palm to lay flat against his chest, moving it past the layers of cloth. Sakura's cheeks flush with embarrassment as she feels lean muscle beneath her hand. "Here, it's heating up." His lips quirk into a very slight smile, not a smirk, but a smile, and it almost appears foreign on his face. "It's so nice, different than what I'm used to. I think you're causing it."

"Sasuke, I really need to go now," she eyes her lamp, it's melted a bit lower than what she began with. The coal-eyed brunette's beginning to put her on edge with his new behavior. "I've got to find a way out, remember?" Her tugging has become a little desperate.

"Don't. Don't leave. I've been trapped here alone, I don't want to be alone anymore. I'll admit it okay? I need someone, I can't get by on my own anymore." He pauses, and she watches his jaw work before he forces his next words out. " _Please._ "

"I'm... I'm sorry Sasuke, but I can't do that. I have friends and family waiting for me outside of here." She attempts to retrieve her hand but his grip tightens to the point of pain and she hisses in air to quiet any cries that want to escape.

All of her focus was frozen on her entrapped hand when something began to change. The boy's hand began to fade to an ashy gray, and his nails elongated into black, pointed talons. Lungs sucking in air for a scream that couldn't force itself past her throat, she dragged emerald irises up to his face, and was horrified by what she saw. The pale beautiful man she had become acquainted with was no longer there, instead, purple lips and black sclera behind crimson pinwheel orbs greeted her sight. A dark four-pointed star etched itself over the bridge of his nose. His frame bent forward and shook violently, dark hair lightening into the same shade as his skin and growing longer and even wilder.

Yanking desperately, Sakura was able to detach herself from his grip and fell back onto her behind, kicking her legs and flailing on the floor in her need to get away from him. Even so, the girl was unable to tear her gaze from his figure and she saw a large lump of _something_ near his shoulders straining against the fabric of the back of his yukata. The creature that used to be Sasuke heaved and drew in shuddering breaths.

"You don't get to make that decision! You don't get to decide! I've been left behind by everyone to suffer alone! My brother left me too! You can't leave me too! You don't get too, _I won't let you!_ " His voice gradually morphed into something that sounded guttural and entirely inhuman. **"You're going to stay with me here forever, and I'll finally have someone to trust! Someone who won't betray me!"** His eyes, that had been so cold with hatred and detachment, were now emblazoned with desire.

"How typical of you, losing your temper anytime something doesn't go your way. You truly were the youngest of the clan, Sasuke."

"Sai?" Sakura had almost forgotten about the male's existence.

Sai doesn't turn towards her, choosing to stare down Sasuke who's glare alone could kill. He seems completely nonplussed by Sasuke's freakish transformation. His cheeks were stretched with the usual false smile and it pissed Sasuke off even more. "You're always such a pain in the ass. I prefer dealing with the others over you, at least they're not such _spoiled brats_."

"Get out of my way Phony. You're just an empty shell, what could you possibly understand about me and what I want? You're no demon, you're not even human, you just a weak imitation." The Tengu stood up to his full height, showing the inches he had over the other male. **"This has nothing to do with you, so stay out of my business!"** He charged in his direction before he even finished the sentence, one of the katanas sliding into his grip off the walls by itself.

Not at all looking worried about the sparks beginning to fly off of the creature's blade, Sai simply stood his ground. As the distance between them rapidly decreased Sasuke thrust his sword forward, only for his wrist to be caught by Sai and directed to the left, a black ooze gathered and shaped itself in Sai's hand out of thin air, soon being used to slash a gash across Sasuke's chest. Hopping away reflexively, Sasuke roughly pulls his ruined top down his shoulders, and if he didn't look the way he did, Sakura might've been able to enjoy the eye candy.

 _'Is that... paint? Wait, no, the consistency's all wrong... ink then? How is he using ink?!'_ The college student can't even begin to process what's happening with all her years of education. Sai's voice breaks her train of thought as he continues to parry off Sasuke's attacks with flowing shields of ink, "Ugly, you have the key. The exit's right behind you."

 _'Wait, he means this knife right? How's this a key?!'_ The rosette turns her head to the wall behind her and sees the curtain from before. _There's nothing behind it though! ... Unless I have to...'_ her stare drifts to the kunai. Expression hardening into one of determination she begins moving towards the door.

Sasuke catches sight of this over Sai's shoulder. **"No! I'm not letting you go anywhere!"** A pained scream rips its way out of his mouth as a lump of webby flesh erupts from his shoulder- _'Is that supposed to be a wing?!'_ The large appendage looks like a webbed, clawed hand and she can't imagine it being capable of flight.

A second one sprouts and knocks Sai aside roughly, sending him skidding into a wall. Planting their "palms" on the ground, he uses them to push off in the air towards her at a startling speed. Turning away from the sight she brings the blunt kunai down through the pastel cloth and easily slices it in half. The parted sides reveal a windowless blue door and she eagerly turns the knob, looking over her shoulder one last time.

 **"Sakura-!"** the door is shut in his face and the slam against it knocks Sakura off her feet on the other side, but despite the force running against it, the barrier holds strong.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Another out on time? Wowzers. Quick disclaimer, I haven't watched any of Boruto and actually stopped sometime during Shippuden (it's just... too much man), so my concept of the characters is stil around that stage. The Cages are gonna' be in order, and in my imagination Sasuke's a weak bitch in comparison to the other famous Uchihas, hence, he is first to go. Now, right now I plan to have 6 total chapters including the prologue plus one for each Uchiha. There may be a seventh if I feel the ending is lengthy enough for it's own chapter, but we'll see. Thank you for reading and as always, favorites and follows are lovely, and reviews even lovelier.**_


	3. AnnouncementExplanation

Ah yes, the dreaded Author Note chapters, I hate them too. I was hoping I'd be able to explain the delays at the endnote of the next chapter that was nearly finished, but as of 3 minutes ago, that became impossible.

You guys might be wondering why my new chapters are so late and I'd like to let you know it's not because I haven't been writing. Unfortunately a string of bad things have been happening to me lately, such as a ton of personal family drama that doesn't leave me with much free time, now having 2 jobs, some lawn work cut our wires so the internet connection has been on and off, and just today, when opening up my drafts... my new chapters had become utterly blank. I'm going to have to re-write quite a bit from scratch sadly, but I just wanted to let you know that "A House Divided" isn't being forgotten about in any way, nor am I losing passion for it. It just so happens that arising issues won't allow me to meet my original deadline.

ALSO:

I have decided to use my profile's bio as way to let readers know about the statuses of stories, so you'll find a similar announcement there soon, and in the future any info about future stories I'll have. This way when I've been silent for awhile, instead of bringing false hopes up with a new update, you guys can look there instead?

I'm extremely sorry for the delay and I hope you guys can forgive me.


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